Light Alloys — From Traditional to Innovative Technologies

Abstract

Selection of materials with the expected, application-dependent characteristics constitutes a very important point in any industrial application. In the automotive and aeronautical industries, the current tendency is to use light metals and their alloys for production of various components. For example, some of the problems related to fuel consumption and weight reduction could be partially solved by using such alloys as an alternative to traditional iron-based alloy components. Due to their very attractive properties, the most commonly employed light materials for producing high-stressed components are aluminium, magnesium and their alloys. Al-based alloys have a high strength/weight ratio, good formability, excellent combination of castability and mechanical properties which together with an excellent corrosion resistance make them very appropriate for a large variety of applications. There are two important families of aluminium alloys: (i) wrought alloys, firstly cast as ingots and/or billets and then mechanically hot-and/or cold-worked into the preferred shape, and (ii) cast alloys, directly cast into their final form through different traditional or innovative processes. At the same time, there is continuing interest in Mg alloys for engineering proposals because of their lowest density directly connected to a weight saving of about 40% compared to steel and cast iron and 20% compared to aluminium for the same component performance. Their high specific strength, good castability and machinability, high thermal conductivity, high dimensional stability, good electromagnetic shielding property, high damping characteristics and full recyclability place them in a particular position for production of different types of components. High-pressure die casting is the most widely used technique and represents about 50% of all light alloy casting production. The tendency to use low-pressure die casting is increasing

Characteristics of Thin High Entropy Alloy Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

“…Hence, the focus of this paper is on the synthesis of thin films based on high-entropy AlCoCrFeNi x alloys and high-entropy (AlCoCrFeNi x )N nitrides [3][4][5][6][7], as well as on their characteristics. High entropy alloys are identified based on two definitions, namely, the Coatings 2022, 12, 1211 2 of 12 chemical elemental composition [8] on one hand, and the magnitude of systems entropy [9] on the other.…”

Effect of Hybrid Ultrasonic and Mechanical Stirring on the Distribution of m-SiCp in A356 Alloy

“…In recent years, increasingly restrictive regulations regarding air pollution [1] have been imposing reductions on fuel consumption and emissions, thus leading to the demand for lightweight vehicle production [2]. As a result, the increasing trend in light alloy usage, namely Al and Mg-based, for the production of structural components underwent major developments [3]. Moreover, conventional alloys have reached their limits concerning their mechanical properties.…”

Effects of Modification Techniques on Mechanical Properties of Al-Si Cast Alloys

“…It is more or less impossible to ind such material existing naturally. This type of situation has led engineers to explore diferent production techniques that produce the desired conlicting properties [1]. At times, two diferent materials may be combined, with each having one of the required properties.…”